A glimpse of Edinburgh & Dublin

It was a first free Sunday of the weekend, ever since we landed at Edinburgh. We decided to head off and explore the city, as we wanted to utilise every moment of our stay here.

We considered a suggestion from a colleague and booked the Hop on Hop off tour which would take us around the famous attractions of Edinburgh. The bus ride offered the tourists the freedom to hop off at the places of their choice or continue to sit back, relax and enjoy seeing the places on a loop to get a better feeling of the city. The buses were simultaneously playing a live commentary while commuting, enabling us to understand the history associated with each sighting we came across.

We made quick pitstops at the Holyrood palace, Dynamic Park and finally at Old Edinburgh later that evening. Once we were done snapping pictures and wandering on the chilly streets of Edinburgh, we hopped back onto the last bus for the day and managed to get a drop to the location where we had initially started from.

During our stay at Edinburgh, there were lots of spare evenings where we found time to explore the place. I recollect one such saturday night, where after having our dinner, we spontaneously decided to visit the castle by walk. We took a bus to the Waverly bridge and made our way through the silent streets of Old town, up to the castle by walking the entire stretch. The majestic castle was lit up with lights and was an absolutely surreal sight!

Most evenings were such that each time, after getting back from office we would set out looking for restaurants serving Indian delicacies. Due to this attitude of ours, we stumbled on many, and ultimately had a few favourites by the end of our stay. Days just rolled on as we kept our evenings busy- club hopping, dancing to the peppy music, singing along side the karaoke at the top of our voices, enjoying live music, savouring the mouth watering food, late night walks through the streets, the warm fragrance of the breweries lingering in the air, long dinner conversations with two amazing colleagues who were sheer delightful companions!

We had to decide our schedule depending upon the weather and we chose to visit Dublin the last weekend of our stay in the UK. Our accommodation was sorted impeccably as we had friends out there, who lived in rented apartments. Our flight was slightly delayed, hence we landed late that evening. Shortly after arriving, we were treated to delicious sumptuous dinners, by our lovely friends who turned cooks for the night. Slightly beyond midnight, we headed out for a stroll primarily to get a tiny glimpse of the night life at Dublin. The apartment that we were staying in, was right across the Samual Beckett bridge. The positioning of the balcony of our apartment was such that, it had a view of the beautifully illuminated bridge with the night lights scintillating on the still waters of the lake beneath. Though the temperature dropped by a few degrees with every passing hour, we still chose to wander in the lanes and alleys, occasionally walking into pubs for a drink or two, till the wee hours of the morning.

It was an exhausting evening and it took a while for us to get prepared the next morning and head out for our little Dublin sightseeing. We had initially considered visiting The bray and the pool beg lighthouse, but it sounded practically impossible to cover both the places on the same day. Our unrealistic expectations for the day was joked at by our friends who suggested the best alternative in the circumstances. Hence we took a train to Howth after a quick, light breakfast.

Numerous beautiful landscapes surrounded us, as we slowly made our way over the hillocks and the winding roads. Engulfed with a lot of flowering plants and green foliage, it made an enthralling sight!

We took a little break at the farthest point on our trek, as we lay down to bask in the sun, merrily welcoming the warmth to beat the teeth chattering cold winds. It was soothing and I was glad that it took my mind off the hurly-burly and stresses of life.We soaked in the coziness that the sunlight offered, as we gazed into the distant sea, squabbling seagulls flew overhead, a beautiful couple lay beside us chatting affectionately, while a musician played a melancholic tune on his guitar. The waves in the distance were like white creases on a vast bundle of velvet and the lolling of the yachts were beyond mesmerising. The air carried a faintly delicious scent of the salty waves and the earthy aroma of the verdure. I shut my eyes wanting to absorb and freeze the moment, to cherish it in my memories forever. The mellowness, the tranquility and the liberated feeling that it all brought to me at that moment, was beyond words.

We walked a little distance where we chose to catch a few pictures, before proceeding over to the market to grab a bite. It was way past our lunchtime, we decided to snack nevertheless, a quick pick from the streets. We gorged on scrumptious street food, which tasted like delicacies showered from heaven to our starved tummies!

On getting back we walked down to the Dublin city centre, where we found the streets filled with people, shopping, meeting and having delicacies at dainty restaurants. We stopped at one of my colleagues’s favourite ice cream joint to relish on their famous crepes. Alongside the flavourful crepes, I stuffed a cup of inviting frozen yoghurt down my throat. Thereafter we made a quick stop at one of the pubs down the street to catch up over dinner with an old friend. We caught trains running through the city roads, which drove us back to the apartment we were temporarily staying at, two stops away.

We were back at our cozy little hotel at Edinburgh, the next morning by flight. Though it was a quick stop at Dublin, we had a marvellous time there.

Takeaways:

• We purchased tickets to the hop on hop off tours at the Waverly bridge for about 15 pounds. The frequency of the buses is roughly between 10-30 minutes. Operates everyday between 9 am to 7 pm. The timings however, vary as per the seasons and the weather conditions.
• Beside the Edinburgh castle is a very exquisite souvenir store. We picked up many keepsakes from here, for reasonable prices. The store has an exclusive Harry Potter merchandise corner. Apart from all of this, they also have a set of Scottish attires for one to wear and get pictures clicked for 20 pounds.
• An ardent Game of Thrones fan can head to a store called the Knights Vault to get replicas of the swords used in the series. They also have merchandise from the Lord of Rings, Outlander and the Highlander movies.
• Out of the many wonderful Indian Restaurants that we visited during our stay here, we loved eating at Dishoom and Mother India’s Cafe.
• At Dublin, we made a quick stop at Carroll’s Irish Gifts to pick Irish souvenirs.